Recrafting a Life After a Stroke

Recrafting a Life After a Stroke...

A survivor and his wife offer advice for coping   At 71, Bob Seiter was an active guy. After retiring from Kaiser Aluminum, where he worked in sales, he played golf three times a week, playing at a 14 handicap and striving to regain his 4. When he wasn’t on the fairway, he spent a lot of time volunteering. Then one morning, he had a hemorrhagic stroke, and everything changed. His wife, Sue, found him in the garage, alarmingly disoriented, called 911 and prayed. Bob was rushed to the hospital, where he spent three weeks in intensive care, clinging to life. The doctors warned Sue that Bob wasn’t expected to make it. But one day he opened his eyes and awareness began, slowly, to return. Coming Back to a New Life Then came 5 1/2 grueling weeks in a rehab facility. Then came reality. Bob recovered from the acute phase of the brain trauma, but he may never get back to normal. He doesn’t have some of the cognitive capabilities he used to have. He can’t, for example, immediately recall numbers, such as age or quantity. Ask him his own age, and he can’t answer until he first counts 40, 50, 60, 70, 71, 72, 73. His short-term memory is poor. He might forget where the TV remote is, whether he turned off the stove or where the newspaper he’s reading is. (He can’t manage reading a book yet.) He still has trouble to recalling specific words or places, such as the cities where his children and grandchildren live. “I’ve had to recraft myself,” he said. “And that means learning how to do basic things again — and accepting that I’ll never be able to do some things I...
How to Keep your Brain Healthy

How to Keep your Brain Healthy...

When people talk about staying healthy and fit, they’re usually thinking about their body from the head down. What many people don’t realize is that one of the most important parts of your body. Your brain needs just as much care as the rest of your body. The brain controls nearly everything that you do, from your thoughts to your movements, so keeping it in the best shape is vital to healthy aging. As you get older, your brain, much like your body, will lose some of its agility, and if you don’t take care of it, it will, eventually, start deteriorating. There have been numerous scientific studies proving different ways that you can boost your brain health, keeping  you functioning at an optimal level. Below are some ways that you can keep your brain healthy: Train Your Brain A recent study showed that a group of elderly people who participated in “brain training” classes are continuing to see positive effects 10 years after the initial training. By giving your brain a daily workout, you can generate new brain cells and stave off age-related cognitive decline. There are multiple apps and online companies that can provide you with free games to help boost your brain strength. Learn Something New By picking up a musical instrument, learning a new language or something else that is completely new to you, you challenge yourself and stimulate your brain in doing so. Stay Rested…but Not Too Rested Getting enough rest is vital to brain health. Get between six and eight hours a night. Don’t overdo it. Sleeping too much can cause just as much rapid decline in cognitive function as not sleeping enough. Feed Your Brain Adopting a balanced diet is vital to...